How to catch BIGger catfish

Okay so I have been catfishing for a few years now and I am more than happy when I catch five or six 2lb- cats. In fact, that hardly ever happens when I'm just R&R fishing...So to be completely honest the biggest cat I have ever caught on rod and reel is probably 3lbs. The biggest on a limbline is 7lbs 2oz, the biggest fish I have ever caught in my life. This blue was caught on a live crappie minnow set in about 6 feet of water 10 feet from the bank.

I fish on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville and I just always see these people with stringers of 10lb+ cats and they are disappointed when they only land an 8 pounder or don't catch but five cats...WTH??? Pretty much I stick to livers when I'm R&R fishing and live sunfish or hotdogs on the trotline.

My question is: How do I catch mostly 5lb+ cats?

Do I need to buy one of those big surf rods, get HUGE hooks, and figure out some way to obtain skipjack? Just please guys if you could be so kind, please explain in full what I need to do. Can you post the item number of the hooks you use? (On Cabelas website) If you know of a place around Russellville to get the desired bait aswell, that would be great information too! What kind of line do I need? I would just like to catch a fish that actually wore me out for once in my life!

calvin after this weekend ill be coming to russelville 1 or 2 times a month so if ya want to meet and fish pm me a telephone number and when i go ill call you.you want have to buy any equipment i have plenty of long rods and sinkers,and hooks.if ya worried bout meeting someone ya dont know just make a post and ask.ive met lots of folks on the boc for a day or a weekend.or ya could pm top sargent hes at london and he knows where to go.

Sometimes it gets frustrating reeling in the "dinks''! I know, I've been there too. I upgraded to larger bait with bigger hooks on heavier line.

My hook selection is a 2/0 to 4/0 wide gap or 2-1/0 treble hook.
Line selection is 20 mono and I use Power Pro 16 dia. with a 65 break strength.

Bait selection. Don't be scared about packing on the livers. I'll use a huge gob time and time again. Use a big treble and go to town on the bait. Usually this keeps the pickers intimidated and the big boys enjoy the meal!

Using Sunfish? Go with a 3-4" or larger on a 2/0-4/0 hook and hook them behind the spine, back towards the tail.

Keep at it and it will happen to ya!! Always ask for advice from the locals and someone might be nice enough to share some tips of advice!!

Worked for me when I started this Catfish Craze!!

Also have you heard of Bloodbait? Many different ways of making it. Coagualted cattle blood cut into chunks!! To me this is the best bait there is for landing big Channel Cats. If you have access to blood or know someone who does. Try it and you'll be hooked on this stuff. Messy yes, but also deadly!!

Hey poison that would be great! I am also from Mena but moved up here for college in the fall. I bet we know some of the same people. Anyways if you would really like to set up a fishing trip and maybe teach me how to reel in the big ones my email is kalvincackler@hotmail.com I would pm you but you have to have 10 posts first So I am off to work....yay.

Thanks for the other responses guys I will try to see what kind of equipment I can get my hands on with the next pay check, bbl.

On limb lines I like to set the bait shallow so when the bait swims the line will bring him up to splash on the surface a bit. I usually go 6-12 deep. On a pole I have to agree big bait=big cats. Have you tried using live bluegills?

I catch carp and fillet them and use them for bait. I use about a 4 by 4 chunk on a 7/0 octopus circle hook barely hooked so the shank is open and barely ever miss a fish under 5 lbs.Carp cutbait also stays on the hook very well due to the thickness and strength of the skin.... Welcome to the BOC and best of luck to ya! :big_smile:

Kalvin, welcome to the BOC! First off - you can learn a lot from Johnnie(poisonpits). Second off - tell us what kind of rods and reels you have on hand.

You don't have to have a large pole and reel to catch larger fish. It is more like being in the right place at the right time. You can catch 5+ pounders at the Nuke plant usually if you fish long enough. Also the bait selection makes a big difference. You can increase the size of fish you catch if you use fresh shad and skipjack. The fresher the better. Later on you might want to invest in a cast net for catching shad.

Anytime I am planning on coming up that way I will let you know. If you have never used a cast net, then I can help show you how. I go to Russelville several times a year! I also fish with Johnnie several times a year.

Keep at it, pits will set ya right, dont worry he is a good guy. One question that I dont think was asked or I did not see it anyways:smile2: are you a bank fisherman or a boatfisherman, reason I ask is there are many places that are excellent fishing that you cant get to from the bank. I fish Dardenell also, fished it plenty with Topsgtlawrence, he showed me a thing or two and I showed him a thing or two. :smile2: There really arent that many huge hogs in the arkansas, but a 10-30lber is not unobtainable. Fresh bait is the key. Skips or shad in that order. Skips are hard to come by unless you know where to look, shad is easier. I fish mainly for blues and an occasional Flathead, I dont mess much with channels as I dont like the way they taste. Join us in our many fishing adventures when we have get to gethers, you can learn alot from the old salts. Pits, I have been itchen to get to dardenell pretty soon When ya goin? after the 4th crowd moves out I was thinkin of campin a few days, If I can get this Van lined out. if not, maybe just a day trip. I'll bring the boat!:wink:

One question that I dont think was asked or I did not see it anyways:smile2: are you a bank fisherman or a boatfisherman

Click to expand...

I don't mind bank fishing so long as I know I can catch some cats in the area. My friend has a 16' jon boat with a 6hp that stays at our house. The main place I fish here in Russellville is around the ski competition area, on the northeast section of the lake.

My hook selection is a 2/0 to 4/0 wide gap or 2-1/0 treble hook.
Line selection is 20 mono and I use Power Pro 16 dia. with a 65 break strength.

Using Sunfish? Go with a 3-4" or larger on a 2/0-4/0 hook and hook them behind the spine, back towards the tail.

Click to expand...

That is how I hooked my trotline up the other day and I had one larger than the rest sunfish he was probably 6". 23/25 fish were eaten from the line, 1 fish was caught, and the 6" perch stayed on for 3 days until I took up my line....and he swam off!

On limb lines I like to set the bait shallow so when the bait swims the line will bring him up to splash on the surface a bit. I usually go 6-12 deep. On a pole I have to agree big bait=big cats. Have you tried using live bluegills?

Click to expand...

I used small (1.5-2.5") bluegills but I only caught 2 cats. Granted they were both around 3 pounds.

I catch carp and fillet them and use them for bait. I use about a 4 by 4 chunk on a 7/0 octopus circle hook barely hooked so the shank is open and barely ever miss a fish under 5 lbs.Carp cutbait also stays on the hook very well due to the thickness and strength of the skin.... Welcome to the BOC and best of luck to ya! :big_smile:

Click to expand...

I was going to attempt carp fishing last week but never got around to it because I hadn't a clue where/how to begin

Second off - tell us what kind of rods and reels you have on hand.
You can catch 5+ pounders at the Nuke plant usually if you fish long enough. Also the bait selection makes a big difference. You can increase the size of fish you catch if you use fresh shad and skipjack. Later on you might want to invest in a cast net for catching shad.

Click to expand...

I have three 7' 2 piece medium action ugly stiks with open faced reels. Is the nuclear plant accessable to bank fishing? I keep trying to get brother to go with me but he sais it was way too crowded when he went. Where I can I obtain shad? I have a small cast net that I use to catch my bluegill for the trotline, and to date I have only caught 3 shad with it.

I fish Dardnelle pool all the time....all year around...I recommend eating the hotdogs & frying the livers!!!oooh::tounge_out: Use shad or skip jacks or catalpa worms produce big fish..move around a lot ,,bigger fish school tighter in the winter i LOVE the winter lot better than summer fishing fresh bait is better..I aint trying to knock ya down just helping:wink: Mac Top some of the other guy's know we catch some dandy's down there:wink:

Kalvin, Those poles are plenty big enough to catch 5 pounders. Wouldn't hurt to get you one bigger for the larger fish. You can rig it with a Tidewater at a resonable price. There is plenty of bank fishing area at the Nuke Plant. Get there early or late and you will have no problem having plenty of room to fish from the bank. If ya have a boat, it is even better. look for your shad at the boat ramp and around weed beds. A small cast net will work fine.

Plan ahead and go to the trouble to get skipjack. We fish the normal stuff with 5/0-8/0 gama octopus circles and do pretty good. But bring a home run pole along for the really big fish!Ours are a; 50 lb gorilla braid on an 8 foot MH, and the other is a 12foot 2 piece with 40 lb mono. Both have a 60lb shock leader 20 feet long for the cast and the rocks and teeth. But the bait is the real story, 10-13inch whole skipjacks hooked up to a tandem snelled hook rig using two 8/0 gama octo circles about 12 inches apart. Hook the 1st thru the chin & out the nostril and the second thru the dorsal area completely then again thru the back behind the dorsal and lodged in the fork of the tail. This rig won't spin much with the hook thru the chin & nostril like the simpler eye hookup. Mouth stays closed! The 8/0 gamas work well with the monster hits cause they stick them thieves real good! Be sure to have your poles anchored good or you will loose them right quick.:sad2: This homerun setup will seldom be bothered by squeezers, so set it off to the side and keep one eye on it. After three trips you will be into that big boy you are after, if not sooner. It will work even when they seem to be real picky.Give this a try and make it a habit whenever you go out. You may be the one with not merely the homerun, but the Grandslam!:wink: Good luck! Big skips + patience = Big cats period:cool2:

Plan ahead and go to the trouble to get skipjack. We fish the normal stuff with 5/0-8/0 gama octopus circles and do pretty good. But bring a home run pole along for the really big fish!Ours are a; 50 lb gorilla braid on an 8 foot MH, and the other is a 12foot 2 piece with 40 lb mono. Both have a 60lb shock leader 20 feet long for the cast and the rocks and teeth. But the bait is the real story, 10-13inch whole skipjacks hooked up to a tandem snelled hook rig using two 8/0 gama octo circles about 12 inches apart. Hook the 1st thru the chin & out the nostril and the second thru the dorsal area completely then again thru the back behind the dorsal and lodged in the fork of the tail. This rig won't spin much with the hook thru the chin & nostril like the simpler eye hookup. Mouth stays closed! The 8/0 gamas work well with the monster hits cause they stick them thieves real good! Be sure to have your poles anchored good or you will loose them right quick.:sad2: This homerun setup will seldom be bothered by squeezers, so set it off to the side and keep one eye on it. After three trips you will be into that big boy you are after, if not sooner. It will work even when they seem to be real picky.Give this a try and make it a habit whenever you go out. You may be the one with not merely the homerun, but the Grandslam!:wink: Good luck! Big skips + patience = Big cats period:cool2:

Click to expand...

Wow you go after the real monsters don't you? I am thinking of investing in a 11' 2 piece this friday when I get the check. Speaking of losing poles...When Johnnie and Cass came up here last week she lost a really expensive rod/reel to a nice fish....whatever kind it was. Apparently the rod holder wasnt secured good enough :sad2: